5pm Wokingham Handicap6f; Best odds bold; Place: 1/4 odds 1,2,3,4.

Royal Ascot betting odds hints and advice

Forget the history and heritage, the pageantry and paraphernalia, it is picking the winners in the Royal Ascot betting that counts. For five days in the middle of June, Royal Ascot provides not only one of the key fixtures of the year’s sporting and social calendar, on equal terms with the likes of Wimbledon, but a paradise for punters with a feast of betting opportunities.

You will not have to don topper and tails to enjoy watching it. Channel 4 TV ensures the Royal Ascot odds are on your side, covering the vast majority of races live.

The Queen Anne Stakes, for four year-olds and older, is the Royal Ascot opener over 1m. It is the first of the three Group 1 races on the Tuesday. Winners of the race include some household names such as Frankel (2012), who put up his greatest performance when winning by 11 lengths, with Group 1 winner Excelebration toiling in second. Paco Boy landed it in 2009 and Cape Cross in 1999. Results from recent years suggest that the winner will come from the top four in the market. The race rarely throws up a surprise result. In 2015 that record was upheld with 11/8 favourite Solow winning cosily.

The King’s Stand Stakes is the second Group 1 race and the most valuable of day one. It is a 5f race for horses of three years old or older and is one of the most prestigious sprints of the year. The role of honour in the King’s Stand Stakes is impressive with such legends of the turf as Habibti (1984), Indian Ridge (1989), Dayjur (1990), Lochsong (1994), Pivotal (1996) and Sole Power (2013 & 2014) all triumphing. Favourites have a moderate record recently as only three have won in the 1995-2015 period. Victorious outsiders include 22/1 shot Equiano (2008) and Goldream (20/1) in 2015.

On the second day of Royal Ascot, the Prince of Wales Stakes is the sole Group 1 contest for four-year-olds and older horses over a mile and a quarter in pursuit of it. Recent runnings of the race have rewarded favourite backers.

Duke of Marmalade claimed the first prize for Aidan O’Brien under Johnny Murtagh in 2008, starting the evens favourite in the Royal Ascot odds. In 2007 Manduro was the 15/8 favourite and duly beat Dylan Thomas (2/1) into second place.

The 2009 running of the race saw the top three in the betting fill the first three places although Vision D’Etat won at 4/1 beating the favourite, Sir Michael Stoute’s Tartan Bearer who started at odds of 6/4, by half a length. The second favourite, Never On Sunday, finished a very close third. Short-priced So You Think won at 4/5 in 2012 but the great Treve was only third in 2014 when 8/13 in the Royal Ascot betting. She was suffering from back problems at the time. The favourite won get again in 2015 when Free Eagle (5/2) beat The Grey Gatsby (9/2) by a whisker, but the latter would have won cosily but for a typically misjudged ride by jockey Jamie Spencer.

The Ascot Gold Cup is the big Group 1 race of the meeting on day three, Thursday. This two-and-a-half-mile marathon has had its detractors over the years, as some horse racing purists look down on the stayers. Nevertheless it has remained a high point of the week. Its popularity may in part be due to the winners that have returned to do battle year after year. These include the mighty Yeats who won it four years running between 2006-2009.

Other Ascot Gold Cup greats that JustBookies can recall include Le Moss (1979, 1980), Ardross (1981, 1982) and Kayf Tara (1998, 2000). Double Trigger (1995) was the most popular stayer of his generation, but he landed the Ascot Gold Cup just once. This is another race where favourites in the Royal Ascot odds have a strong record.

The Coronation Stakes is the feature race of the fourth day. It is contested by three year old fillies and so attracts the top fillies that had previously run well in the English or Irish 1000 Guineas. Katies (winner of the latter) beat the mighty Pebbles (winner of the former) in an epic clash in 1984. Attraction followed up her Newmarket win here in 2004.

On the final day of Royal Ascot, the Saturday, it is the Diamond Jubilee Stakes that is the feature Group 1 race. Run over six furlongs, this is a sprint that has sprung some major surprises in the Royal Ascot betting.

Kingsgate Native won in 2008 at 33-1, having finished as an also ran in the King’s Stand stakes just four days prior. In 2009, Michael Bell’s Art Connoisseur won at odds of 20-1. Australian challenger Black Caviar famously won as favourite in 2012.

So that gives a lowdown of the major races for this most unique five days of racing. Whatever tickles your fancy in the Royal Ascot odds, JustBookies.com hopes you enjoy the week and come away ahead in your battle with the bookies.